Psalm 55 – Do Not Hide

 December 25, 2024

You can run but you can’t hide. So true when it comes to God. There is no place that you can hide from God’s love. But in Psalm 55 – do not hide, who is hiding from whom? Is God hiding from the psalmist, or the psalmist hiding from God?

Psalm 55

In the first verse of Psalm 55 – do not hide, the writer tells God not to hide from him.

“Listen to my prayer, God; And do not hide Yourself from my pleading.

Give Your attention to me and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and severely distracted,

Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the pressure of the wicked;

For they bring down trouble upon me and in anger they hold a grudge against me.” (1-3)

His heart is in anguish. Why? Because of the betrayal by a close friend.

“For it is not an enemy who taunts me, Then I could endure it;

Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, Then I could hide myself from him.

But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and my confidant;

We who had sweet fellowship together, Walked in the house of God among the commotion.” (12-14)

In response to this suffering, he wants to run away and hide.

“I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.

 “Behold, I would flee far away, I would spend my nights in the wilderness. Selah

 “I would hurry to my place of refuge From the stormy wind and heavy gale.” (6-8)

He ends by placing his trust in God:

“As for me, I shall call upon God, And the LORD will save me. Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and moan, And He will hear my voice.” (16-17)

“Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” (22)

Do Not Hide

David knew something about hiding. He spent approximately eight years fleeing Saul, hiding in caves and other spaces to elude the crazed king. (history – How long was David on the run from Saul? – Christianity Stack Exchange)

To have God hide his face was a fear for the writer. In Psalm 22:9 and Psalm 102:9 the psalmist cries out, “Hide not your face from me.” To see God’s countenance is the greatest good; to have God withdraw God’s countenance, the greatest evil.

Like a child whose parents turn their back on them to show their displeasure, the psalmist attributes to God human characteristics. God will never turn his back on his children when they are in need. Rather, God is always present. It is our inability to perceive God that is lacking.

Hiding in Plain Sight

God is everywhere, hiding in plain sight for those with eyes to see.  I see evidence of God every time I look at the wonders of creation. The varieties and abundance of flowers, fruits, vegetation, animals, insects, etc. The amazing abilities of the human body, opposable thumbs, the firing of neurons to power our nervous system, our digestive system that provides nutrients and removes waste, our ability to breath. The beauty of nature, awesome sunrises, changing colors of leaves, thunderstorms over the mountains, the vastness of space.

However, to see God’s face was also considered fearsome. No one can see the face of God and live. Moses came the closest to this. That is why God masks his face, hiding within his creation, including within us humans.

Psalm 55 – Do Not Hide

In Psalm 55 – do not hide, David goes from fear in the opening verses, to fury at his betrayal, to faith. He starts by fearing that just as his friend had turned against him, God may be withholding his favor. In despair he wants to run away and hide. But there is no hiding from God. David releases his anger at his betrayer. Having released this anger, he then turned to God in faith.

So, we are to come to God with all of our anger, frustrations, sorrow, and joys. There’s no hiding anything from God, so why try? God knows us better than we know ourself. And that is reason for joy.

Have you ever tried to hide from God? Did it work? Have you ever felt that God hid his face from you? I would love to hear from you.

(For another take on this psalm, see Psalm 55: Seeking a Place of Refuge – Patricia M Robertson)

Merry Christmas!

Today is Christmas, the day that Christians everywhere celebrate the coming of our God to the earth in the form of a human baby. What a wondrous gift to the world! When our God came to earth, he came as one of us, hiding in plain sight in an infant. God continues to be present to all people, if only we have eyes to see.

Wishing all a blessed Christmas and peace in the New Year!

This post is part of a series on the Psalm. Sign up to follow this blog and receive a free copy of Still Dancing, the second book in my Dancing through Life Series.

(Please note – in order to help ensure you receive email with link to new book, please add my email, patricia@patriciamrobertson.com to your contact list. Some servers are quick to send newsletters to spam or other boxes.)